Gainful Employment

Gainful Employment Regulation

The Department of Education (“ED”) issued new regulations (published in the Federal Register on October 29, 2010) that require institutions to disclose and report data on Higher Education Act (HEA) eligible educational programs that lead to gainful employment in a recognized occupation (“GE Programs”). The gainful employment rules apply to non-profit (public and private) and for-profit institutions that participate in the federal student financial aid programs under Title IV, HEA.

The data is compiled in response to the federal initiative to examine what has been occurring in proprietary schools. The issue it addresses is whether students are taking on unsustainable debt in exchange for degrees and certificates that fail to help them get the jobs (and income) they need and were promised. When they fail to find gainful employment, many may default on student loans. Federal regulations now require institutions to disclose their total program costs, loan repayment rates, graduates’ debt-to-earnings ratio and other information to help students better choose the gainful employment program that’s right for them.

Overview of the report

The population of interest is the completion cohort of new students enrolled full-time in the cohort in a certificate program of less than 60 credits or two years in length.

Part-time students were given two years to graduate rather than one. They are included to provide evidence that community college students do not operate in typical fashion to a four year model.

Programs and their respective CIP codes have been taken from CAPP for Fall 2009. ONE*NET is the link to the Department of Labor’s website where the CIP Code was

More Information on Gainful Employment Certificates

Each of the links below will provide you information on certificates that lead to gainful employment in a specific occupation. Please note that only the financial aid eligible certificate programs that Gateway offers are listed below: